Oct 31, 2007

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Oct 30, 2007

It's Tackle It Tuesday, again and I thought I would join in this week with a few of the things that have been keeping me busy this week. There are no pics, but you will have to trust me.

1. I have conquered Mount Laundry once again and let me tell you that it was quite the mountain to climb.

2. I cleaned up the disaster formerly known as kitchen and that was quite the job too, you would be proud if I had been smart enough to take pictures, but I never claimed to be a brain surgeon. LOL (I thought working mom was enough for this week.)

3. I have been learning more about html and creating interesting templates. I have so much that I want to learn, but I am having fun playing with it. I have done the template for this blog, Coffee Talk, Mama in love, Green-Eyes Chats, and A drop of Ink. It has been fun, and I have more ideas to practice.

Oct 29, 2007

I am late getting this done. The Hamburger Soup was a big hit as was the Country Chicken . I am definitely making them again! This week I get groceries on Thursday, I love doing my menu plan on grocery week, even if I have to stick to making it easy because I am working.

Oct 28, 2007

I recently got an advanced copy of a new book that I just have to share with you. It is called "I Love You More" and it is by Laura Duksta. I was truly touched when I read this book to Princess. It was simply written and it's message was one of love that just rang so true for me.

Ever since Princess was a baby I always told her, "I love you more than all the stars on the sky and all the sand on the beach." And I will never forget the day she came down the stairs and told me, "Mommy, I love you up to the roof and out to the whole world." It just melted my heart to hear that.

So I was truly touched while reading this story, where it says such things as, "I love you more that the tallest giraffe ever grown, I love you more, so much more than you've ever known." The story just felt like a pure expression of the love between a mother and her child.

I like that it was simply written and I can tell you that this will continue to be a special book for Princess and I to share special moments cuddled together on the couch while reading. When I read it to her, she looked at me with tears in her eyes and squeezed me and said, "Mommy, I Love You." What better review can a book get than that.

It is also really cute that it is a flip book, you read it one way from the point of view of the Mommy and the other way from the point of view of the child. I liked the way that related to the story.

After I read the book, I read about the author, Laura Duksta. At the age of 11, she lost all of her hair to a 'disease' called Alopecia Areata. After 19 years of wearing wigs, Laura made a decision to throw a coming out party as "The Bald Chick". She wrote "I Love You More" as a testament to the power of love.

Well, they came today and interviewed us. We will be on CBC news tonight and she said that she would probably be able to get us a copy on CD, I will keep you updated. The interview was about a program that we have been a part of for a year. It is a buying club aimed at helping parents feed their families healthy foods. The family puts in so much money and the club matches it and then goes out and buys foods in bulk and splits it among the families keeping each family's preferences in mind. It is a great program and I am proud to be a part of it. They filmed me getting Princess's breakfast, preparing her snack, getting her off to school and interviewed us, asking us questions about the program.

On a side note, every time I opened a cupboard or got something for Princess, the news lady kept saying how amazed she was at my organization. It made me feel good to hear that. I was really proud.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Oct 23, 2007

I swear they are out to get me. All those confounded electronic devices that gang up on me and figure out ways to confuse me in the middle of the night.

I told you about my new phone and how it reduced me to a confused, muddle-headed, mess blindly stabbing at buttons hoping that one of them may possibly answer this silly contraption.

Well, let me tell you another little story. I decided that a working mommy deserved an actual working watch. You know one with a strap that actually wraps all the way around your wrist and stays there and tells you the time. Amazing concept I know, but I didn't think it was so much to ask.

Prince Charming and I go to the store and pick one out. My only requirement was that it had a watch strap that would wrap around my wrist and hopefully not wear out in a month. We find one that fits (I have big wrists that in itself was an adventure bordering on a treasure hunt, let me tell you). We found one, we put in the box, we take it home and I put it on. It is a watch, it tells time. That should be all there is to know . . . . right? Yeah right . . . . and all you need to know about cell phones is how to answer them.

I put it on and suddenly there are numbers flashing on the screen that little calendear at the top is flashing three days. What?!? It can't possibly be three days at once. I may not know much, but this I do know. And there should NOT be numbers flashing. Prince Charming set the time. I am starting to think that the little instruction booklet that came with the watch was there for more than extra wrapping to keep the watch from rattling.

I mean I was not surprised the watch came with instructions, so do Pop Tarts. They are for the extremely stupid who can't figure out that the POP-TARTS TOASTING INSTRUCTIONS (1. Remove pastry from pouch. 2. Warm pastry in toasting appliance at lowest or lightest heat setting for one heating cycle only. 3. Cool briefly before carefully removing pastry from toasting appliance. ) basically boils down to take it out of the package, put it in the toaster, when it is done, take it out and eat it, but don't burn yourself silly.

I figured that the watch instructions were like that, for those silly people who lived in caves all there life and have not had the ample watch wearing experience that I, the ever so world-wise one has had.

But that was before I realized that my watch was out to get me. So meanwhile back on the ranch, I am wearing this watch that is flashing all this stuff at me, like it is trying to send secret messages out the alien invaders. And I give Prince Charming my best damsel in distress look and show him my watch. He patiently tells me, if you see that again, push this button and that one and it will go away. And I head off, secure that I have now got this invernal contraption figured out and a lifetime of time-telling bliss is soon to be mine.

But I was wrong.

My watch took to flashing strange things at me when I wasn't expecting it to. I would be working away and suddenly wonder, when is my lunch anyway? And I would look at my watch, expecting it to have the answer. I mean that is it's job. It is the only job it was hired for. I didn't read its resume and I certainly did NOT want all the bells and whistles. I want one and only one thing, THE TIME. But when I look at the time, it is flashing something at me. I try Prince Charming's very simple instructions, "Push this button and then that one." and look hopefully at the watch. And . . . . nope, more numbers getting progressively higher with every button I push. "God help me! Please tell me I am not changing the time on this thing!" I silently pray to myself as I practice my blindly pushing buttons technique I perfected on my cell phone. Finally, with one final push of the buttons, my watch once again proclaims the time. Which is nowhere near lunchtime, but I can handle that. I get back to work forgetting the numbers that were on the watch before I got it to again tell me the time. I figure, they are gone, so they can't be that important, right?

But I was wrong.

At about three in the morning, my watch starts shreiking at me. Without opening my eyes, I blindly press buttons hoping to kill that horrible noise. It goes away and I blissfully fall back asleep. At about five in the morning, I once again hear this shrieking this horrible, awful noise. But I am dead tired. Sound asleep and my brain has decided that this is the alarm clock going off. I am stabbing at buttons on the clock, turning off the alarm, and mumble, "why won't this thing shut up!?". Prince Charming, rolls over, gently takes my hand away from the clock, turns off my evil watch and we both go back to sleep. At some later point in time, (I didn't open my eyes for this one.) It goes off AGAIN!!! I put my hand over Prince Charming, hand him my wrist and say ever so pleasantly, "Turn this damned thing off or it is going in the toilet." With one push of the buttons, he shut it up, hopefully permanently.

But I swear, if this watch takes battle with me tonight, I coming downstairs, I am taking the hammer and I am going to win this battle permanently while making myself a nice watch shaped pile of rubble to play with.

Btw, have I mentioned that we recently got digital cable? Stay tuned for further adventures in "When Good Electronics Go Bad."

It's Tackle It Tuesday, again and I thought I would join in this week with my kitchen Tackle. I went through my cupboards and took everything little out of there and put them in containers storing like things with like. I put some of Princess's snacks on the counter in containers for easy reach for Princess. I sorted through my pantry and put everything together, neat and tidy.

Oct 20, 2007

Prince Charming had a surprise for me today. He took me to the store, that little boy light in his eyes that says he has a secret he can't wait to share with me. He goes in the store and as pre-arranged, he walks straight to the ones he had already chosen and picked them up. It was a 2 for one sale and with the phones being only $20 it was well worth it.

So, he hands me the phone and he opens it up, points to the screen and says, that way you will know yours from mine. I look at my phone and there is a picture there. Is it a picture of my loving Prince Charming? No. Is it a picture of my beautiful Princess? No. Is it a picture of anyone I know at all? No. My lovely new phone has a picture set as it's wallpaper and it is of . . . . wait for it . . . . you will never guess . . . . I swear you won't . . . . its a picture of . . . . the guy who sold us the phone! There saved for prosperity is the grinning face of the poor guy subjected to Prince Charmings silliness. LOL.

So, Prince Charming hands me the phone and I look at it for a second. I have seen phones before and I foolishly think that having used many cell phones before means that I can of course use this little bit of machinary sitting in my pocket.

Later, as Prince Charming and Princess decide to head on home and let me get groceries by myself (trust me it's cheaper that way) I confidently leave with my phone in my pocket completely unaware of how to actually use this thing. After they are gone, I decide to give him a call and find out how much money is in the bank as I am a very careful budgetter and we have been out shopping. I open my phone and suddenly realize I have no idea how to use this phone. I punch in the number and then blindly start pushing buttons hoping one of them will dial the darned thing. All sorts of things start flashing on the screen and suddenly I am in the picture section and sending multiple copies of the smiling face of our salesman to Prince Charming, but I have not yet managed to dial the phone. I press the button and I am suddenly getting ready to take a pic. I don't know how I got there and I am not sure how to get out of it. Like the thing is possessed, I close it up and hope that it will make all these crazy things go away off the screen. I open it slowly, peaking inside and YES!!! The crazy things have gone away. Now to figure out how to dial the phone. I push the down button and I see his name! YES YES!! Prince Charming has programmed his phone into mine! Woohoo! I can't dial anyone else, but I can phone him! I call and ask him to call me with the budget after he has it.

So there I am wondering around the grocery store, picking things out and carefully deciding which ones I should get when, the phone rings. I pick it up and open it up and realize that I have no idea how to answer this darned thing. I madly stab at the buttons, picking it up and saying, "hello? Hello?" And then it is stopped ringing and I missed the call.

Who can't use a phone??? I have been using phones for years, I had sillily enough thought that at least this one piece of equipment I could manage. I can use HTML, I can tell people about their cars, BUT I can't use a PHONE??? OKAY, hand my moron sign, I am an official member of the stupid school.

(PS, I can now use my phone, change the ring tone, and play wheel of fortune, but for GODS SAKE, DON'T ASK ME TO TEXT YOU!)

The theme this week is PRACTICAL. I was a little stumped on this one. Then I came up with the field trip to a local farm and petting zoo that Princess went on. It would be really much more practical to get vegetables there instead of at the grocery store. And aren't they just beautiful? This pic is not edited at all and I love how bright the veggies are.

Oct 19, 2007

I have been fighting a battle that I haven't mentioned here before. Princess has been giving us a hard time with wetting her bed. And she didn't even have to be sleeping to do it. I would ask her why she would pee her bed awake when she never does that during the day and she would just say, "I didn't want to get out of bed mommy" How in the world do you make you child WANT TO stay dry all night. After many many night-time battles, I decided to break out the good old calendar reward idea. I have never done that with Princess and I thought she would like it. So I printed out her "Dry Bum Calendar" and I showed it to her. I explained that for ever night that she was dry, she got a sticker and one little chocolate. After 7 in a row, she would get a bigger treat. Well yesterday, we went out for our first big treat! She got a little pet shop toy thing and some chicken nuggets at McDonalds. She was so proud and you know what? . . . so am I.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Twitter

About Me

I wonder . . . who does the dishes at Cinderella's house. What happened
in her happily ever after? Does she ever get elbow deep in spaghetti
sauce, finger paint and bathwater while Little Princesses make a royal
mess on the floor? I got my fairy tale, Prince Charming came and swept
me away. Now what? That's where the story ends. This is where I live
happily ever after. And along the way, I am finding myself again. I have moved
from following the crowd to following my own path, prefering the life of
a vegetarian, green-living, homeschooling mom. My old-fashioned,
carnivorous, Prince Charming is not sure how he ended up married to
someone like me, but he supports me in being the person that I am and
even loves me for it.

Recipe Note:

Some of the recipes I post I have invented myself, and others I was sent via email from my friends. These are recipes that I really enjoyed and wanted to share. If this recipe is yours, let me know and I would be happy to link to your site and to give you all appropriate credit.